Tim Ridout

Tim Ridout is a lecturer in the Accounting Area of the Orfalea College of Business.  He is a seasoned financial executive with over 25 years of experience and a deep background in establishing highly effective operational infrastructures and teams to support rapidly growing companies. Based upon on his knowledge, successful track record, and energy, Ridout was repeatedly recruited by high profile technology companies to lead the financial and administrative functions (including finance, accounting, and at times human resources, facilities, legal and information technology) and build world-class, scalable organizations. He is known as a professional with strategic vision, operating effectiveness, and “the guy that gets things done.”

He has extensive experience in raising capital to support business growth in the form of equity financing (20+ venture capital and strategic financing rounds) and debt financing (bank lines of credit, equipment financing, venture debt, etc.). He has established and managed the administrative operations and requirements for many international subsidiaries as dictated by international company growth. He has also been responsible for the integration of multiple acquired and merged companies.

After Ridout graduated from Cal Poly in 1993, he became a CPA at Price Waterhouse (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) in their Silicon Valley office.  At Price Waterhouse, he specialized in software industry clients and eventually left to join one of his software clients, NetDynamics. This launched his industry career, where he subsequently led financial operations at transformation companies, in transformational times, with complex transactions, and at extreme growth companies. He led these initiatives with an eye toward an initial public offering and the public company preparation requirements.

He has always enjoyed training, teaching and mentoring his team members — developing them, enhancing their knowledge and experience to allow them to strive for greatness within his companies, and prepare them to be highly sought after talent outside his companies. It is with this mindset that he desires to motivate, teach, and equip his alma mater’s most valuable resource, Cal Poly’s business students, for future success.

Education & Certification

• Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with concentrations in Finance and Accounting, 1993 (Summa Cum Laude, Dean’s Award Recipient)
• CPA

Experience

• VP Finance – VoloAgri Group/US Agriseeds – Vegetable Seeds
• Senior Director Finance – Mainstream Energy – Clean Energy
• VP Finance – Concentric Medical – Medical Devices
• VP Finance & Administration – Cenzic – Web Application Security Software
• VP Finance/Corporate Controller – Geocast Network Systems – Databroadcast Technology
• Products Group Controller – Sun Microsystems – Fortune 500 Technology
• Financial Planning & Analysis Manager – NetDynamics – Internet Infrastructure Software
• CPA, Senior Auditor – Price Waterhouse LLP

Accolades

• 2020 Outstanding Accounting Faculty Award
• 2020 de Werd Faculty Award for Impact on Student Success
• 2019 Distinguished Faculty Award, Orfalea College of Business
• 2019 Outstanding Accounting Faculty Award
• 2019 KPMG Outstanding Educator Award
• 2018 de Werd Faculty Award for Impact on Student Success
• 2018 EY Outstanding Educator Award
• 2017 Distinguished Faculty Award, Orfalea College of Business
• 2017 PwC Outstanding Educator Award